Nazareth
Nazareth lays in the lower Galilee, not far from the Sea of Galilee. Though Nazareth was a small and insignificant village when Jesus lived there as a boy, it is now a modern city and a regional economic center. It is primarily an Arab city, the largest in Israel with a population of 60,000, mostly Christians and Moslems, living side by side.
Nazareth is one of the most important Christian holy sites in the world. Approximately one million tourists and pilgrims visit this city every year. When the author Mark Twain made his pilgrimage to the Holy Land in 1869, he found Nazareth, "wonderfully interesting because the town has an air about it of being precisely as Jesus left it."
The city recently underwent a major renovation, including a reconstruction of the village in a way it might have looked in the days of Christ, along with improved roads and tourist amenities.
Nazareth has been inhabited continually since its inception, but did not gain significance until the 5th century when the first church of the Annunciation was built. Sadly, there are few relics remaining from the early days of Christianity. Most of the archeological finds consist of caves, cisterns and grain storage bins used in a small village in the first century.
Since the beginning of Christianity, Nazareth has had an unbroken Christian presence, so there is widespread belief that the identification of holy sites is accurate. The one place where the historical Jesus visited beyond doubt is at the well, since there was nowhere else to draw water.
Some of the holy sites in Nazareth include:
The Church of St. Gabriel: From the Church of St. Gabriel, a narrow street winds among the houses of Old Nazareth to the Church of the Annunciation. The large structure, completed in 1966, is built over a cave traditionally believed to be the site of the Annunciation.
Grotto of the Virgin: This site is believed to be the place where the Angel Gabriel announced to the Virgin Mary that she was to become the mother of Christ. The grotto is located at the Basilica of the Annunciation.
Joseph's Workshop: The supposed site of St. Joseph's carpenter shop -- located at the Church of St Joseph's.
St. Mary's Well: According to a version to be found in the apocryphal Gospel this well is the true place of the annunciation -- located at the Church of St Gabriel. This is the main natural water source in Nazareth.
'The Synagogue' -- The traditional location of the synagogue where Jesus preached on the Sabbath (Matthew 13, Mark 6). Christian traditions holds that this is the synagogue where Jesus studied and prayed in his formative years.
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